JEDDAH: A citizen has accused the National Water Company (NWC) of arbitrarily calculating water use, claiming that unsuspecting consumers end up paying extra tariff, even as the consumer body has highlighted ways to reduce consumption.

“The citizen has taken a video showing the error in calculating his water bill and posted it online,” local media reported Monday.

According to the video, the report said, the current reading of the water meter was wrongly shown as 4,873 while the previous one as 4,106, which meant the company would charge according to the 4th category of the consumption tariff, which comes in the highest slab.

However, the citizen proved through the video that the actual reading was 1,963, which means the figures are being arbitrarily put on the bills by the water company, the report said.

The report in the local publication did not cite any response from the NWC to the citizen's video documentation.

According to local media, a number of citizens recently complained against the high water bills, and the company's staff failed to give convincing explanation.

The Saudi Consumer Protection Association (CPA), meanwhile, has stepped up its guidance and awareness efforts on rationalizing water consumption following an increase in the water tariff. It has urged consumers to adopt ways to reduce consumption and bills, another local newspaper reported.

Using a graphic entitled "Save water, even if you are sitting on a riverbank," the CPA pointed out that the Saudi citizen is the third most wasteful in the world in terms of water consumption and that the Kingdom is one of the top five countries in the world suffering from scarcity.

The association urged people to reduce wastage by reducing the time taken in the shower, not leaving the tap wide open during washing hands or ablution before prayers, and advised them to use a cup of water when brushing the teeth.

With regard to water use in the kitchen, the CPA advised citizens to wash fruits and vegetables in a basin or bowl filled with water, stressing on the importance to avoid running water when washing utensils and dishes.

CPA urged households to use front-loading washing machines because these machines save 40 percent of water compared to the top-loading ones. It also recommended the use of air-pressure water pumps to clean the front yards of houses or the other wide areas around the houses because such pumps save about 80 percent of water compared to the water hose usually used for this.

The association stressed the need to repair any water leak in the taps, connections or the water networks because about 14 percent of water is wasted through such leaks. It also stressed the importance of using filters and water recycling systems in pools and to conduct routine maintenance work on them.

For gardens and plants, the CPA advised people to water plants, trees and flowers early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid the evaporation process, which is high during daytime.